The origin of this defense method against an opening bid of 1 No Trump is unknown. As the designation Middlesex strongly suggests the county in England called Middlesex, which is a historic county in southeast England. This designation is now mostly part of Greater London with sections in Berkshire, Hertfordshire, and Surrey. It was established in the Anglo-Saxon system from the territory of the Middle Saxons.

Note: The visitor should also be aware of the Middlesex County College, which is a community college with its main campus located in Edison, New Jersey, United States. The college was founded by the Middlesex County Board of Elected Freeholders in the year 1964, and serves also the needs of Middlesex County, as well as surrounding communities.

Note: Since the defense method is mainly employed against a weak No Trump opening bid with a range between 12-14 points, the scales tip in favor of the defense method being devised by members of the Acol bidding community, employed to a large degree in England.

No Trump Range

Although this particular defense method is generally employed following the opening bid of a weak No Trump with a range between 12-14 points a partnership is not barred from applying this defense method against other No Trump ranges.

Note: If the partnership indeed decides to employ the defense method against other No Trump ranges, then this becomes a separate and individual partnership decision. Such an action on the part of the partnership follows the same principle as that of the Asptro conventional defense method, whereby the values may be adjusted by the partnership to accommodate additional opening ranges.

Note: For the purpose of this presentation the No Trump range is 12-14 points.

Overcalls of the Concept

Opponent		Overcaller	Meaning
1 NT			The No Trump range is generally considered to be within the range of 12-14 points.
		Double	A double is for penalty. Partner must pass.
		2	This overcall promises a 4-card Heart suit and a longer Minor suit such as a shape of x-4-x-5, or
			promises a single-suited distribution in Hearts, or
			promises both Major suits with longer Spades such as 5-4-x-x.
		2	This overcall promises a 4-card Spade suit and a longer Minor suit such as a shape of 4-x-x-5, or
			promises a single-suited distribution in Spades, or
			promises both Major suits with longer Hearts such as 4-5-x-x.
		2	Promises a 5-card suit in Hearts and a 4-card plus unspecified Minor suit.
		2	Promises a 5-card suit in Spades and a 4-card plus unspecified Minor suit.

Continuances

All continuations are per partnership agreement. As with any variation of a defense method against a No Trump opening by the opposition this variation can also be altered to suit the individual partnership agreement.

If you wish to include this feature, or any other feature, of the game of bridge in your partnership agreement, then please make certain that the concept is understood by both partners. Be aware whether or not the feature is alertable or not and whether an announcement should or must be made. Check with the governing body and/or the bridge district and/or the bridge unit prior to the game to establish the guidelines applied. Please include the particular feature on your convention card in order that your opponents are also aware of this feature during the bidding process, since this information must be made known to them according to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge. We do not always include the procedure regarding Alerts and/or Announcements, since these regulations are changed and revised during time by the governing body. It is our intention only to present the information as concisely and as accurately as possible.